Alaska Air posts another record quarter

At Alaska Air Group Inc. records are indeed made to be broken. Leaders of the parent to Alaska Airlines reported a record second quarter net income of $157 million.

The results reported July 24 are a 50 percent increase in profits versus the $105 million second quarter of 2013 and mark the company’s eighth record net income in the last nine quarters. It was also Alaska Air Group’s 21st consecutive profitable quarter.

Operationally, President and CEO Brad Tilden said Alaska Airlines had the highest on-time performance among the eight major domestic carriers at 88 percent.

“With the continued commitment of our people across the system, we expect to deliver another year of exceptional financial and operational performance in 2014,” Tilden said during an earnings call with investors.

The adjusted earnings broke down to $1.13 per share, up 53 percent from the second quarter of 2013. Air Group stock was trading at $46.47 near the end of trading July 29. The company executed a two-for-one stock split July 9.

Air Group Chief Financial Officer Brandon Pedersen said the phasing out of older aircraft helped improve Alaska Airlines’ fuel efficiency by 2.5 percent in the second quarter. That, combined with a 2.4 percent drop in fuel prices year-over-year, contributed to the positive results, according to Pedersen.

He said there is a target of returning $350 million to the company’s shareholders by the end of the year. It is currently issuing a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share.

“When viewed as a percentage of either free cash flow or net income, Air Group’s distributions will likely lead the industry, underscoring our long-term commitment to ensuring that our owners get an appropriate return,” Pedersen said.

The dividends totaled $34 million in payouts over the first half of the year.

Through June, the company had repurchased 1.8 million shares totaling $83 million, he said. In May, a new, multi-year $650 million stock repurchase plan was announced on the back of a just-completed $250 million repurchase program.

Its 12-month running return on invested capital, or ROIC, was 16.1 percent, up from 13 percent during the previous 12 months.

Alaska Air Group finished the quarter with an adjusted debt-to-capital ratio of 32 percent. Pedersen said it was 81 percent at the end of 2008.

With its credit rating of BBB- by Fitch Ratings, Alaska Air Group is one of only two major domestic carriers to have an investment-grade credit rating. The other is Southwest Airlines.

“This important recognition validates the work we’ve been doing to position Air Group as a high-quality industrial company,” Pederson said.

Aside from the financials, Alaska Air Group became a Fortune 500 company for the first time in its history during the quarter.

“Our pensions are fully funded and we own 73 of our airplanes free and clear,” he said. “Our balance sheet puts us in an excellent position to defend the franchise we’ve created here in the Pacific Northwest.”

Air Group Senior Vice President Andrew Harrison said passenger revenue was up 8 percent on a 5.2 percent increase in capacity for the quarter.

In recent months Delta Air Lines has increased its schedule out of Seattle, Alaska Airlines’ main hub, a trend Harrison said Alaska Air Group expects will continue. He said Delta’s Seattle flights will likely overlap with half of Alaska Airlines’ available seat miles by next summer.

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